Dracanis
Dracanis are a bipedal race of humanoids with distinct draconic characteristics. They are native to Oskksul. The lore says they are descended from dragons, but as no one has ever seen a dragon on Oskk or anywhere else on the planet, there is some doubt as to whether this is true.
They have prehensile hands with three to four fingers and a thumb; most have fairly humanoid fingers with thicker talon-like fingernails, but some have hands more resembling those of a climbing lizard. Most dracanis have dragon-esque feet with three to four taloned toes. About half to two-thirds of dracanis have tails, which range from barely touching the ground to almost twice their height in length.
All dracanis have scales or plates of some sort in addition to skin. The minimum tends to be scale or plate along the hair line, top of the arms/chest/shoulders, on the feet, and on the tail; the maximum are individuals who have almost no exposed skin, though you will usually find it at least on the palms, center of the chest and down the belly, as well as the inner thighs and private areas.
In coloration, they can have hair, skin, eyes, horns, scales, etc. of almost any color: however, the color of an individual's scales/plate and human hair tend to be in the same color family. Colors as well as extent of dragonic traits runs in families, and is thus thought to have some sort of genetic component. The extent of dragonic traits is also generally linked - i.e. you are unlikely to see an individual whose entire body is covered extensively in dragonplate who has a completely human face and hands. The vast majority of individuals fall somewhere in the middle of the scale from most humanlike to most dragonic.
Reproduction across species lines is not unheard of for dracanis, and its rarity has more to do with cultural norms than physiological challenges. Dracanis females and hermaphrodites who carry hybrid offspring generally experience no change from their own reproductive processes. Human females or other species who carry a half-dracanis child typically have only a single birth, with a slightly longer than usual gestation period compared to their own species. Dracanis young and half-dracanis are born with horns, talons, and scale ridges which are quite soft and harder over the first day or so of their life, so they pose no harm to mothers of any species.
Biological Characteristics
Appearance
All dracanis are bipedal, have prehensile (grasping) hands, and have some sort of scaling or plates on their bodies. From there, there are as many differences as similarities between the individual members of this species. They are generally taller than a human, with the average height being between 6'2" and 7'2". Most dracanis have fairly humanoid faces, with pointed ears and 2-6 horns on their heads, though some individuals have more dragonic facial features with a more elongated snout, defined brow ridges, and no ears. Their eyes have vertical slit pupils reminiscent of a lizard or cat's, and their eyes can be any color.They have prehensile hands with three to four fingers and a thumb; most have fairly humanoid fingers with thicker talon-like fingernails, but some have hands more resembling those of a climbing lizard. Most dracanis have dragon-esque feet with three to four taloned toes. About half to two-thirds of dracanis have tails, which range from barely touching the ground to almost twice their height in length.
All dracanis have scales or plates of some sort in addition to skin. The minimum tends to be scale or plate along the hair line, top of the arms/chest/shoulders, on the feet, and on the tail; the maximum are individuals who have almost no exposed skin, though you will usually find it at least on the palms, center of the chest and down the belly, as well as the inner thighs and private areas.
In coloration, they can have hair, skin, eyes, horns, scales, etc. of almost any color: however, the color of an individual's scales/plate and human hair tend to be in the same color family. Colors as well as extent of dragonic traits runs in families, and is thus thought to have some sort of genetic component. The extent of dragonic traits is also generally linked - i.e. you are unlikely to see an individual whose entire body is covered extensively in dragonplate who has a completely human face and hands. The vast majority of individuals fall somewhere in the middle of the scale from most humanlike to most dragonic.
Life at Altitudes
Dracanis are eurybarc, which means they are well-adapted to life at high altitudes, and can thrive in environments that are very hard for humans and other living creatures to live in. The same physiological adaptations that makes them ideal for life at high altitudes makes it easier for them to survive in the cold and the dark, such as cave systems. They are also excellent at regulating their own body temperatures, with the ability to bring more blood into circulation near the surface of their skin when they need to cool down or to bring as much blood as possible away from their skin and extremities to aid in staying warm, though this also slows their breathing and heartrate and cannot be sustained during periods of high energy or high movement.Sensory and Extrasensory Capabilities
Dracanis have excellent hearing and eyesight, with eyes that can adapt from incredibly bright to incredibly dark conditions with ease, including being able to see in extremely low-light situations with clarity (though not color). They also have an extra organ which allows them to 'see' thermodynamically with a combination of enhanced sight and smell. Their sense of taste is average. Their sense of touch varies - when excited or aroused with more blood flow they can be so sensitive to touch as to be also disabled by it, while at the other extreme when they are conserving warmth by reducing bloodflow they can almost lose their sense of touch entirely.Diet
Dracanis are, by and large, carnivores. While they enjoy some plants and most fruits, vegetables, and nuts as much as the next being, they require a diet rich in meat and fish to be healthy. Dracanis who do not consume enough fish and meat are physically and mentally weakened, and some even lose pigment across their bodies or develop Scalerot.Genetics and Reproduction
Dracanis are sexually trimorphic and reproduce sexually. Female dracanis are only fertile when extremely well-fed and healthy, in the late summer and early fall, and only once every 3-5 years. Males are likewise only fertile when well-fed and healthy and in the late summer and early fall, though they are fertile nearly every year when healthy. Hermaphroditic dracanis, who possess both male and female sexual organs, are always fertile but conceive very rarely (3-5% of the time) with other Hermaphrodites and rarely (5-10%) of the time with male or female individuals. Female individuals almost always have multiple births (a "clutch"), ranging from 2-4 young, and their gestation period typically is a year per developing child; they often must nest or semi-hibernate for one-third to one-half of the pregnancy. Clutches can all have the same second parent or have 2 or more second parents; young from the same second parent might share genetic material in a similar way to identical twins in humans or might all have different inherited genetic material in the way of human siblings. Hermaphrodites only ever produce one offspring at a time, gestate for a year, and rarely need to nest for more than a couple of weeks before giving birth. The ratio of genders among the birthrate is not equal: males are born most frequently, then hermaphrodites, and then females in a ratio of 5:4:1.Reproduction across species lines is not unheard of for dracanis, and its rarity has more to do with cultural norms than physiological challenges. Dracanis females and hermaphrodites who carry hybrid offspring generally experience no change from their own reproductive processes. Human females or other species who carry a half-dracanis child typically have only a single birth, with a slightly longer than usual gestation period compared to their own species. Dracanis young and half-dracanis are born with horns, talons, and scale ridges which are quite soft and harder over the first day or so of their life, so they pose no harm to mothers of any species.
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